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Peabody Trust (202339084)

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REPORT

COMPLAINT 202339084

Peabody Trust

29 August 2024


Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of damp and mould in the property.
  2. The Ombudsman has also taken the decision to investigate the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Background

  1. The resident has an assured tenancy with the landlord. The property is a two-bedroom basement flat. The resident lives with her daughter. The landlord advised this Service there were no known vulnerabilities.
  2. On 25 January 2023 a work order was raised to carry out work in the resident’s living room, toilet, hallway cupboard and kitchen. The work included mould washes, plastering and redecoration. On 19 June 2023 a work order was raised for a socket in the lounge which the resident had reported was not working and making a noise.
  3. The resident raised a complaint on 17 July 2023. She said there had been several leaks from a flat above which had caused her ceilings to be damp and affected a bedroom and the bathroom. The resident said she had repeatedly complained about the problem but felt nothing had been done. She also referenced concerns about some exposed pipework from a recent boiler installation, contractors damaging her carpet, a problem with the bathroom light and an ariel socket not working since the landlord had removed the socket to carry out work on mould in the living room. The resident advised the landlord that she wanted the problems resolved as soon as possible.
  4. The landlord issued its stage 1 response on 16 August 2023. It stated it would arrange for a supervisor to visit the property to assess the damage caused by the leak and arrange any repairs needed. The landlord said most of the repairs had now been completed but the ariel socket work remained outstanding as the contractor had not been able to gain access or contact her by phone. It said it did not have any records of carpet being damaged and provided the contact details of its insurance team so the resident could submit a claim. The landlord offered the resident £200 compensation which comprised of £100 for repair service, £50 for complaint handling and £50 for time, trouble and inconvenience.
  5. The resident told the landlord on 18 August 2023 that she did not accept the compensation and wanted to escalate her complaint. She set out her reasons on 24 August 2023, stating that the ariel socket repair was still outstanding, the information in the stage 1 response about the contractor not being able to contact her was incorrect and there was still visible mould in the kitchen and bedroom. The resident also said she felt the compensation offered was not acceptable for the length of time the repairs had been outstanding.
  6. On 5 October 2023 the landlord issued its stage 2 response. The landlord said an operative had attended on 5 October 2023 to review the damp and mould in the kitchen and the resident’s daughter’s bedroom and inspect the socket. It said the internal contractor would put in place a programme of work to treat and repair the damp and mould. The landlord had submitted a work order for an urgent repair for the ariel socket. It acknowledged the repair had been outstanding since March 2023 and apologised for the delays the resident had experienced. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint and awarded £500 compensation which comprised of £400 for time, trouble and inconvenience and £100 for complaint handling. It apologised for not meeting deadlines or the resident’s expectations.
  7. The resident contacted this Service on 24 February 2024. She said the damp and mould were affecting her health and her daughter was not using her bedroom as it was damp. The resident said there were damp patches in her bedroom, the kitchen and the toilet. In a phone call to this Service on 20 May 2024 the resident said a surveyor had attended and found damp throughout the property caused by the bathroom not having a vent.

Assessment and findings

Scope of investigation

  1. The resident advised this Service that her and her daughter suffer from asthma and have had their health affected by the damp and mould in the property. While the Ombudsman is sorry to hear of these health problems, it is beyond the expertise of this Service to determine a causal link between the landlord’s action (or lack thereof) and the impact on the resident’s and her child’s health.
  2. Often, when there is a dispute over whether someone has been injured or a health condition has been made worse, the courts are able to rely on expert evidence in the form of a medico-legal report. This will give an expert opinion of the cause of any injury or deterioration of a condition. This would be a more appropriate and effective means of considering such an allegation and so should the resident wish to pursue this matter, she should do so via this route.  This investigation will only consider whether the landlord acted in accordance with its policy and legal obligations, and fairly in the circumstance.
  3. The resident advised this Service that she first reported a problem with damp and mould in 2018. However, paragraph 42c of the Scheme states “The Ombudsman may not consider complaints which, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, were not brought to the attention of the member as a formal complaint within a reasonable period which would normally be within 12 months of the matters arising”. This means this Service will not normally consider events that have happened 12 months prior to them being raised formally with the landlord. Therefore, this investigation will be unable to investigate back to 2018. However, there is information available to this Service from 25 January 2023 which is 6 months prior to the resident making her complaint to the landlord and this information will be included in the investigation.

The landlord’s handling of damp and mould in the property.

  1. The landlord’s “Repair Responsibilities” document states it is responsible for dealing with “condensation and mould”, “damp caused by building defects i.e. rising damp, damp proof course failure”, “water ingress (leaks)” and repairing or replacing “individual extraction systems”. The landlord also has repair obligations under section 11 of The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which places a statutory obligation on the landlord to keep the structure and exterior of the property in repair.
  2. The landlord’s damp and mould policy states “We will investigate all reports of damp, mould and condensation within residents’ homes where we have responsibility for repairs. We will make sure we carry out, and complete, any necessary repairs that would help tackle the issue”.
  3. The landlord has a responsibility under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), introduced by the Housing Act 2004, to assess hazards and risks within its properties. Damp and mould growth are a potential hazard and therefore the landlord is required to consider whether any damp and mould problems in its properties amount to a hazard and require remedying.
  4. The resident advised this Service that she first reported damp and mould in the property in 2018. This Service has been unable to verify whether the issue existed in 2018 as this falls outside of the scope of this investigation. However, the landlord provided records that date back to 25 January 2023 which show the landlord was aware of a damp and mould problem at the resident’s property on this date. This was nearly 6 months prior to the resident’s complaint on 17 July 2023. On 20 May 2024, the resident advised this Service that the damp and mould problem at her property remained. This was inappropriate. The Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on damp and mould states, “It is imperative that residents are not left living with damp and mould for an extended period” and “Landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue”.
  5. A work order was raised on 25 January 2023 for mould washes, plastering and redecoration in the living room, toilet, hallway cupboard, and kitchen. This Service was unable to establish whether the landlord responded in an appropriate and timely manner as we do not have information on what caused this works order to be raised. It is reasonable to conclude the landlord raised this works order in response to damp and mould being identified at the resident’s property. It was unclear from the repair logs provided when this work was carried out and what other work occurred prior to the resident making her complaint on 17 July 2023. However, both the landlord and resident referred in their correspondence to work taking place at the resident’s property for damp and mould in the living room and the resident’s daughter’s bedroom in March 2023.
  6. In its stage 1 response issued on 16 August 2023 the landlord advised it would arrange for a supervisor to visit the resident’s home “to assess the impact of the leak and arrange any repairs”. This Service has been unable to establish if or when this visit took place and whether the landlord acted appropriately as no records have been provided regarding this. The only work order that was raised at the time the stage 1 response was issued was regarding an ariel socket. Without survey results this Service was unable to establish the full extent of the damp and mould at the property.
  7. The evidence showed that after the resident escalated her complaint some work orders were raised that referenced damp and mould. A work order was raised on 6 September 2023 which stated, “bathroom and kitchen skirting boards are rotting, may include kick boards”. However, a note on this work order dated 19 September 2023 said, “cancelling wo no works done”. Two work orders were raised on 8 September 2023, one stated “resident reports water marks and peeling paint on ceiling in bathroom and bedroom following leak” and another said, “investigate damp and mould”. The work order to address the water marks and peeling paint was closed on 6 October 2023 and transferred to a historical work order that had been raised on 15 September 2023. This work order was still open and titled “decorate bathroom and kitchen skirting boards”. The work order for the damp and mould investigation was not updated so it is unclear if this investigation was carried out.
  8. Many of the work orders submitted as evidence to this Service did not clarify what work had been done. This problem was identified by the landlord on 5 October 2023 in its internal complaint log notes which stated there was “No real audit trail on repair history – things not really been logged”. It is the Ombudsman’s view that there was a lack of ownership and oversight of the resident’s damp and mould case which hindered progress and a resolution to the problem. There was no evidence to show that the landlord acted with any urgency, took swift action to comply with the HHSRS requirements or the Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on damp and mould.
  1. On 5 October 2023 the landlord’s internal contractor attended the property to “review damp and mould affected areas”. In the landlord’s stage 2 response of the same date, the landlord said that following the visit that day it would “put in place a programme of work to treat/repair this issue”. This Service was not provided with a copy of the programme of work so was unable to establish if the landlord acted appropriately after its visit. There was no evidence of any new work orders being raised because of this visit.
  2. The resident chased up the landlord on 30 October 2023 asking when the work was going to be carried out.  The resident stated, “My main concern now is my daughter’s bedroom as the weather has become increasingly colder, the dark spots are showing more and seems like a few new ones have appeared. She is not sleeping in that room as I am concerned about her health as well as how cold that room is in particular”. The Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on damp and mould states, “Landlords should recognise that issues can have an ongoing detrimental impact on the health and well-being of the resident and should therefore be responded to in a timely manner”. There was no evidence to show the landlord acknowledged the resident’s concerns about her child’s health in relation to the damp and mould problem. This was inappropriate and unreasonable. With the damp and mould problem ongoing, the resident and her daughter experienced prolonged distress and inconvenience.
  1. On 6 November 2023 the landlord apologised for the delays and said it would chase the internal contractor. The landlord contacted the resident on 8 November 2023 stating, “I’m just trying to get some straight answers out of the contractors responsible for the repairs”. This highlighted the difficulty the resident was experiencing in getting the work carried out and the lack of oversight the landlord had of its contractor. The Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Repairs states, “If a landlord contracts out its repairs service, the obligation to repair remains with the landlord and not the contractor. Landlords need to ensure that they have adequate oversight of their outsourced services”.
  2. The evidence showed that during November 2023 the landlord carried out some damp-proof course injections at the resident’s property. Following this treatment the landlord was due to paint the affected areas of the resident’s property. The resident chased this work up on 23 November 2023 as she was told a return visit was due within a week of the damp-proof course injections. The resident’s expectations had not been appropriately managed initially as the landlord replied advising that the painting would occur when the property had dried out after the injections had taken effect. The landlord said it was awaiting an update from the contractor regarding the date of the next appointment. However, the evidence showed a return visit to complete the work had not been booked in. The work order for this job was only raised on 7 December 2023 after the landlord’s complaint handler chased up this work on 4 December 2023.
  3. Without consulting the resident, the return appointment was booked in for 29 December 2023. When the landlord advised the resident of this date, she said that she could not be available that day due to a medical appointment. The landlord advised that date was chosen as other repair works were already booked in at her property on that day. The resident was unaware of the other appointment and asked why appointments were booked in without her knowledge. The evidence did not show the landlord’s response to this question, so this Service is unable to identify how the communication breakdown occurred.
  4. The appointment was rebooked for 15 January 2024, which was 10 days off a year since the first work order referenced in this investigation. The Ombudsman appreciates any delay experienced due to the resident not being available for an appointment until a later date is reasonable. However, the Ombudsman would not expect the landlord to have taken this length of time to address the issues of damp and mould in the property. Recommendation 13 from the Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on damp and mould states, ”Landlords should ensure that their responses to reports of damp and mould are timely and reflect the urgency of the issue”.
  5. The notes on the work order for the return appointment to address the damp and mould in the property recorded the work was completed on 15 January 2024. However, on 1 February 2024 the resident emailed the landlord and said “[The] bedroom has still not been seen or touched since you explained it would be three weeks after their initial visit? So again, for the final time. Who can I speak with? That can deal with the ongoing issue of damp and mould in my daughter’s room. The damp has started again in the small WC, my bedroom & kitchen”. The resident chased up her email a week later, on 9 February 2024, stating, “Why am I still chasing this issue of damp in the flat 4 years on the trot”. On 20 May 2024 the resident advised this Service that a surveyor had attended the property in February 2024 and found damp throughout the property caused by no vent in the bathroom. This Service has not seen evidence of this survey and no evidence has been provided by the landlord to confirm the damp and mould problem within the property has been resolved.
  1. The resident advised this Service that her and her daughter both have asthma. The resident also advised this Service that she has anxiety, depression and ADHD. This Service was told there were no known vulnerabilities when the landlord was asked about vulnerability in the evidence request for this case. The Ombudsman appreciates the resident’s household may not have had these vulnerabilities at the start of the tenancy. However, the landlord is expected to update its records. This is important as illnesses, disabilities and vulnerabilities may develop over time. The landlord cannot solely rely on out-of-date records. As set out in the Housing Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Knowledge and Information Management, recording vulnerabilities is the first step in providing a sensitive and responsive service. This information must be kept up to date, be accessible, and be shared and used appropriately. As the resident brought these vulnerabilities to the landlord’s attention during the complaints process, it would be appropriate for the landlord to contact the resident to ensure it has up-to-date records of the household’s health conditions.
  2. The landlord awarded the resident £400 in its stage 2 response for “time, trouble and inconvenience”. It said the award was “to take into consideration the length of time taken for the repairs to be completed, the conflicting information you have been provided regarding the repairs and to acknowledge the disruption, inconvenience and impact this has had on you”. There was no compensation provided specifically for the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of damp and mould.
  1. Considering the above, the Ombudsman has determined there was maladministration in the landlord’s handling of damp and mould. This was because the damp and mould problem has been ongoing for a minimum of 16 months. There was a lack of ownership and oversight of the resident’s damp and mould case which hindered progress and a resolution to the problem. There was no evidence to show that the landlord acted with any urgency or took swift action to comply with the HHSRS requirements.
  2. The level of rent is used as a starting position by the Ombudsman in relation to the award of financial redress for loss of use and enjoyment of a property. The Ombudsman has made an order of compensation, set out below considering the specific circumstances of this complaint, the resident’s rent charge, and the Ombudsman’s remedies guidance. The resident’s rent is based on the monthly rent of £778.59 for 2023 and £838.08 for 2024.
  3. The order considers the monthly rents specified above from 25 January 2023, when the records show the landlord was already aware of the damp and mould problem, to 20 May 2024 when the resident confirmed the issue remained unresolved. As such, the resident and her child have been living with damp and mould for at least 16 months. The Ombudsman concludes that compensation based on 10% of the monthly rent should be paid to the resident because the resident and her family did not have full enjoyment of a bedroom, the kitchen and bathroom in comparison to if the property had not been affected by damp and mould. This amounts to £1,275.48, comprising of 10% of 11 months’ rent at £778.59 per month for 2023 and 10% of 5 months’ rent at £838.08 per month for 2024. This is to recognise the loss of enjoyment of these rooms over 16 months. The landlord is also ordered to pay the resident £600 for distress and inconvenience.
  4. The landlord must provide the resident with a copy of a surveyor’s or damp specialist’s report regarding the damp and mould within the property and carry out the required work, if it has not already done so.

The landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

  1. The landlord’s complaint policy states there are 2 internal stages to its complaints process. The policy states the landlord will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days. It will respond to stage 1 complaints within 10 working days and stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. This is in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code).
  1. The resident raised her complaint on 17 July 2023. The evidence showed the landlord did not acknowledge the resident’s complaint and no attempt to contact the resident about her complaint was made until 16 August 2023. This was also the same date it issued its stage 1 response. This was 22 working days after the resident had raised her complaint. This was not in line with the landlord’s complaints policy or the Code. The landlord did not address the complaint handling delay in its stage 1 response but did offer the resident £50 compensation for complaint handling. The compensation was proportionate and in line with the landlord’s compensation policy which states compensation up to £50 will be awarded when there has been “A failure to follow the complaints policy or procedure with low level impact”. It would have been good of the landlord to have also explained the reason why it had awarded this compensation in its response.
  2. In its stage 2 response the landlord addressed that it had not acknowledged the resident’s complaint and had not issued its stage 1 response within the correct timeframe. It said, “Whilst I believe your case manager was making enquiries and reviewing your case, there was no engagement with you until 16 August 2023. This therefore constitutes a service failure”. It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge this.
  3. The resident requested an escalation of her complaint to stage 2 on 18 August 2023. The landlord did not respond to the resident’s escalation request, so the resident emailed the landlord again on 23 August 2023. The landlord acknowledged the resident’s escalation request on 30 August 2023. The landlord addressed the delay in escalating the resident’s complaint in its stage 2 response, it said “[Landlord]’s Complaints Policy states that your original escalation request should have been acknowledged within 5 working days”. It was appropriate for the landlord to acknowledge this.
  4. The landlord offered the resident £100 for complaint handling in its stage 2 response. The reasons stated for this award were the delay with issuing its stage 1 response and the delay in escalating the resident’s complaint. The compensation offered was in line with the landlord’s compensation policy which states up to £150 can be awarded when there has been “A failure to follow the complaints policy or procedure, or to correctly investigate a complaint, resulting in inconvenience and effort to progress”.
  5. On 25 September 2023 the landlord advised the resident it needed to extend the deadline for issuing its stage 2 response by up to 10 working days. This was in line with the landlord’s policy and the Code which states “Exceptionally, landlords may provide an explanation to the resident containing a clear timeframe for when the response will be received. This should not exceed a further 10 days without good reason”.
  6. Prior to acknowledging the resident’s escalation request, on 30 August 2023, the landlord said in an email to the resident, “If you do decide you wish to escalate your complaint, my compensation offer at stage one of our complaints processes will be withdrawn. This is because compensation offered at stage one is only applicable when the complaint is resolved at stage one. For example, whilst compensation can be increased as a result of escalation, it can also be reduced. Please let me know how you would like to proceed”. This was inappropriate. The language used by the landlord might have unfairly and unnecessarily deterred the resident from escalating her complaint.
  7. Considering the above, the Ombudsman has determined there was service failure in the landlord’s complaint handling. This was because while the landlord acknowledged its failures in complaint handling and awarded appropriate compensation, changes need to be made to the landlord’s complaints handling to ensure language is not used which might unfairly or unnecessarily deter residents from escalating their complaints.

Determination

  1. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was maladministration by the landlord in respect of its handling of damp and mould.
  2. In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in respect of its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

  1. The Ombudsman orders the landlord to pay compensation of £1,875.48. The compensation must be paid directly to the resident and not applied to her rent account. The landlord must provide evidence that it has complied with this order within 4 weeks of the date of this report by submitting a copy of the remittance advice, or equivalent document, to this Service. The compensation is comprised of:
    1. £1,275.48 in respect of the landlord’s handling of damp and mould.
    2. £600 for distress and inconvenience.
  1. The landlord is ordered to provide the resident and this Service with a copy of a surveyor’s or damp specialist’s report regarding the damp and mould within the property and carry out the required works. After this work has been carried out the areas affected by damp and mould should be appropriately treated and redecorated by the landlord. This work must be completed within 12 weeks of the date of this report and evidenced by completed works orders detailing the work carried out.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that the landlord conduct a review of its record-keeping practices to ensure appropriate recording of vulnerabilities and to ensure consideration is given to these when dealing with cases of damp and mould. The landlord should consider, if has not done so already, implementing a knowledge and information management strategy, in line with the Ombudsman’s Spotlight Report on Knowledge and Information Management.